Airplanes and helicopters are used for airlifting patients in an Air Ambulance service. Both airplanes and helicopters are used for this purpose. Airplanes are more spacious and can be used to fit in more people and equipments. In helicopters, space is a constraint. Other then that, ambient noise in helicopters is an issue. Providing care to critically ill patients becomes difficult, due to both these constraints. Besides this, airplanes can be used for long distance transport while helicopters can serve the purpose only while shorter distances are traveled.

Few procedures like chest auscultation are difficult to perform in smaller aircrafts. Pressurization is another issue. Most aircrafts do not have any cabin pressurization. This is a problem, as without cabin pressurization, physiology of human body changes a bit. Behavior of gasses also changes a lot. In such circumstances, paramedics need to be trained very well on how to treat patients.

Both airplanes and helicopters are specially fitted with medical equipment to make them air ambulances. Air ambulances are fitted with special loading systems like ramps to lift patients, life support systems (both basic and advanced), incubators for younger children, and various medical monitoring devices.

A short list of equipments which are fitted in helicopters and airplanes to make them air ambulances, is given below:

- Cardiac Monitors for heart patients.

- Defibmonitors

- Ventilators

- Nebuliser

- ECG machine

- Cardiac pacemaker

- Stretchers

These equipments are necessarily fitted in both airplanes and helicopters so that they are worthy of being used as air ambulances. Other devices may be fitted depending upon the space in both types of crafts and the model. Airplanes carry more equipment and are capable of flying for longer distances so they are used for national as well as international air lifting missions. Helicopters are used within city limits. Airplanes are fitted with better weather control and flighty equipments, so they can fly into bad weather also, where helicopters can't fly.

Now the day's safety of Air ambulance is one of the key concerns in United States. Air ambulance services are growing very rapidly and so the accident cases. Air Ambulance play a vital role in transporting patient or in providing emergency Medical services. A special investigation report titled "Special Investigation Report on Emergency Medical Services Operations" was issued by U.S. National Transport Safety Band on January 20, 2006. This report provides the guidelines about using technology and operational infrastructure, to ensure safety of Air ambulance. This guide make sure that this valuable service is continued and General public is being benefited from this in best possible way.

These guidelines were published after NTSB (national Transport Safety band) has recorder a total of 55 cases of accident providing Air Ambulance. Detailed investigation of all these accidents has proved that these accidents were result of security issues which could have been avoided.